Safety glove with fingertip protective member

ABSTRACT

A safety glove having a protective member or insert extending around the fingertip of the safety glove is provided. The protective member may be positioned along the outer surface or the inner surface of the glove. Alternatively, the protective member may be integrally formed between two layers of glove material. The protective member terminates distally from an interphalangeal joint line to enable finger flexion in order to grasp an item, such as a slab of meat to be deskinned in a skinning machine. The glove may include a rough outer surface formed from thrice dipping the glove and allowing the glove to cure. Additionally, the glove may have a width near the wrist that is wider than the width near the palm to enable the glove to be rapidly removed (i.e., doffed) in an emergency event of the glove getting caught in a rotating blade on the skinning machine.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a Continuation Application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/185,097, filed on Jun. 17, 2016, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/181,967, filed Jun. 19, 2015. Each of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to gloves. More particularly, the present disclosure is directed to work gloves for use in the food processing industry. Specifically, the present disclosure is directed to a protective work glove that includes an etched exterior layer which has improved abrasion resistance and a protective member integrally formed at the tip of each finger and thumb.

BACKGROUND Background Information

In many industries it is both desirable and necessary for workers to wear protective gloves. One of these industries is the food processing industry, particularly the meat packing industry. In the meat packing industry, many workers have to use knives during the performance of their jobs and, thus, there is a risk of accidentally cutting through the glove and injuring the worker's hand. It is therefore vital that a cut-resistance glove be worn in these particular occupations. Other workers use motorized machinery to perform tasks. One such machine is a deriding skinner which is utilized to simultaneously remove skin and a layer of fat from carcasses during meat processing. These skinners are configured to remove tough, thick layers of skin from a carcass. Consequently, workers gloves have to be strong and abrasion resistant so as to try and prevent a worker's hand from being badly hurt if it coming into contact with the blade region of a deriding skinner.

A number of patents are directed to protective gloves which are cut-resistant and abrasion resistant. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,293 and a protective glove commercially known as “Best Nitty Gritty” manufactured by Showa Best Glove of Menlo, Ga.

SUMMARY

Issues continue to exist with protective gloves insofar as they still may lack adequate protection in the fingertip region. Thus, a need exists for an improved protective glove used in the meat packing industry. The present disclosure addresses these and other issues.

In one aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure may provide a protective glove comprising: a flexible first layer; a hardened second layer; a flexible third layer; a tip of a finger region adapted to receive a user's finger therein; and wherein the hardened second layer is between the flexible first and third layers adjacent the tip of the finger region.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure may provide a protective glove comprising: a distal tip of a finger region adapted to receive a user's finger therein; a flexible first layer extending over a distal tip of a finger region; a hardened second layer extending over the distal tip of the finger region and positioned entirely distal from an interphalangeal join plane; and an indicator layer extending over the distal tip of the finger region positioned between the first layer and the second layer, wherein the indicator layer provides a visual identifier to a user in the event that the flexible first layer is broken.

In another aspect, an embodiment may provide a method comprising the steps of: donning a protective work glove including a protective layer adjacent a tip of a finger region on the glove, wherein the protective layer is fabricated from a hardened material and is positioned between two layers of flexible material; skinning meat in a skinning device including a rotating blade; wherein the protective layer protects a user from injury if the protective work glove contacts the rotating blade.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure may provide a protective glove comprising: a proximal wrist end opposite a distal fingertip end; a first finger sleeve including a distal tip; and a protective member adjacent the distal tip and positioned distal from an interphalangeal joint line, wherein the protective member is hardened relative to the first finger sleeve.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure may provide a method comprising the steps of: donning a protective work glove including a protective layer adjacent a tip of a finger region on the glove, wherein the protective layer is fabricated from a hardened material and is positioned between two layers of flexible material; skinning meat in a skinning device including a rotating blade; and protecting a wearer from injury if the protective work glove contacts the rotating blade.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure may provide a safety glove having a protective member or insert extending around the fingertip of the safety glove. The protective member may be positioned along the outer surface or the inner surface of the glove. Alternatively, the protective member may be integrally formed between two layers of glove material. The protective member terminates distally from an interphalangeal joint line to enable finger flexion in order to grasp an item, such as a slab of meat to be deskinned in a skinning machine. The glove may include a rough outer surface formed from thrice dipping the glove and allowing the glove to cure. Additionally, the glove may have a width near the wrist that is wider than the width near the palm to enable the glove to be rapidly removed (i.e., doffed) in an emergency event of the glove getting caught in a rotating blade on the skinning machine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

A sample embodiment of the disclosure is set forth in the following description, is shown in the drawings and is particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are fully incorporated herein and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate various examples, methods, and other example embodiments of various aspects of the disclosure. It will be appreciated that the illustrated element boundaries (e.g., boxes, groups of boxes, or other shapes) in the figures represent one example of the boundaries. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that in some examples one element may be designed as multiple elements or that multiple elements may be designed as one element. In some examples, an element shown as an internal component of another element may be implemented as an external component and vice versa. Furthermore, elements may not be drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a protective work glove in accordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation view of the protective work glove of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged front view of the highlighted region of FIG. 1 and showing the etched rubber on the exterior surface of at least part of the work glove;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-section of a finger region of the work glove taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-section of a finger region of the work glove taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2 including an indicator layer positioned between a flexible outer layer and a hardened layer;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged elevation view of a finger region of the work glove detailing a rip or tear or cut in an outer flexible layer such that an indicator layer is visible to provide a visual identifier that the glove is broken and needs replaced; and

FIG. 7 is a cross section view of a finger region for an alternative embodiment glove having a protective member therein.

Similar numbers refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-6 there is shown a work glove in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, generally indicated at 10. Glove 10 comprises a wrist region 12, a palm region 14, finger regions 16 and a thumb region 18. Glove 10 is configured to receive a user's hand therein through an opening (not shown) but defined in a first end 12 a of wrist region 12.

Wrist region 12 is configured to cover a portion of a user's wrist and forearm and first end 12 a thereof is preferably angled such that a first side 12 b of wrist region 12 is longer than a second side 12 c thereof. First side 12 b is that side which is located adjacent thumb region 18.

Wrist region 12 has a first width 13 when glove 10 is laid flat. The wrist region 12 width is widest portion of the glove 10 and defines an opening 15 through which a user or wearer is intended to insert their hand.

Palm region 14 is positioned distally from wrist region 12 and positioned proximal from first end 12 a. Palm region 14 is configured to cover the palm of the user's hand and the back (i.e., dorsal portion) of their hand. Palm region 14 has a second width associated with it which may referred to as second width 17. Second width 17 is less than the first width 13 of the wrist region 12. As such, when glove 10 is laid flat, side edges 12 b,12 c taper inwardly from wrist region 12 towards palm region 14. By enabling wrist region 12 to have a greater width than that of palm region 14, glove 10 is enabled to rapidly and easily be pulled from the wearer's hand. The rapid doffing may occur during the meat skinning process if the distal tip of the glove is caught in a rotating blade.

Finger region 16 extends distally outward from palm region 14 in a direction opposite to wrist region 12. Finger region 16 include the index finger region 16 a, middle finger region 16 b, ring finger region 16 c, and little finger region 16 c. The respective finger regions are defined by finger sleeve coverings formed of glove material. The finger sleeves are similarly labeled by reference numerals 16 a, 16 b, 16 c, and 16 d.

Thumb region 18 also extends outwardly from palm region 14 in a direction generally opposite to wrist region. Thumb region 18 is located in front of finger region 16.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention and as illustrated in FIG. 4, glove 10 may be fabricated from a first layer 20. First layer 20 forms part of every region of glove 10. Thus, first layer 20 is provided as part of wrist region 12, palm region 14, finger region 16 and thumb region 18. FIG. 1 shows that first layer 20 is the exterior layer covering most of wrist region 12. First layer 20 is of substantially the same thickness over the entire glove 10 with the exception of the tips of each respective finger region 16 a, 16 b, 16 c, and 16 d. As illustrated in FIG. 4, in the tip 22 of each digit, such as index finger region 16 a, first layer 20 is thinner than over the rest of glove 10 and a protective member 24 of material is provided exteriorly of first layer 20. In one embodiment, the protective member 24 may be a hardened acrylic and provides additional protection in the tips 22 of each finger. A liner of drilled cotton 26 may be provided interiorly of first layer 20. This drilled cotton liner 26 makes glove 10 more comfortable to wear as it is gentle on the skin and also absorbs perspiration from the user's hand. The drilled cotton liner 26 is secured to first layer 20 in any suitable manner, however normally the cotton liner 26 is fitted to a mold and dipped into liquid rubber creating adhesion between the two. Further, alternative to drilled cotton liner 26, a liner of interlock or jersey cotton may be utilized to provide comfort for the user's skin.

The protective member 24 is integrally formed in glove 10 extending from a first end 40 over and around a distal tip region 22 of each finger region 16 to a second end 44. In the embodiment described above, protective member 24 is a hardened acrylic or hardened rubber however, other hardened materials used to protect the tip region 22 of each finger region 16 are entirely possible. For example, hardened polymers, Kevlar, hardened milled rubbers, and various other hardened non-metals may suffice. It may be undesirable in some instances to use a metal as protective member 24 because protective member 24 is designed to protect the tips of a user's fingers when inside the glove in the event the glove comes in contact with the metal blade on the skinner. The use of a metal protective member 24 contacting a rotating metal blade on the skinning device may damage the blade on the skinning device. However, it may be entirely possible to use a softer metal such as aluminum to fabricate protective member 24.

The first and second ends 40, 44 of protective member 24 terminate distally relative to a distal interphalangeal joint line 46. The interphalangeal line 46 is an imaginary line drawn at the location of the distal interphalangeal joint of a user's hand when the glove 10 is worn. The advantage of terminating protective member 24 distally from interphalangeal line 46 is that this design permits a user to continue to have a full range of motion in flexing the distal interphalangeal joint line 46 while protecting the tip regions 22 of their fingers with a solid protective member 24. The first and second ends 40,44 form a portion of an annular edge defining an opening opposite a tip of the protective member 24, wherein the annular edge is positioned entirely distal of the interphalangeal line 46 associated with the first finger sleeve 16 a. The annular edge 41 tapers towards the second end 40 of the protective member to thereby define a tapered surface 45.

Protective member 24 is integrally formed between first layer 20 and a second etched outer layer 28 (described in further detail below). In one embodiment, the integral formation of a protective member 24 sandwiched between first layer 20 and second layer 28 is accomplished by adhering protective member 24 to first layer 20 with an adhesive and then coating second layer 28 over first layers 20 and protective member 24. In other embodiments, no adhesive is needed to secure protective member 24 to first layer 20.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the second layer 28 of etched material is provided exteriorly over first layer 20 across all of the finger regions 16, the thumb region 18, the palm region 14 and a portion of wrist region 12 adjacent palm region. The second layer 28 comprises a plurality of randomized alternating ridges 28 a and valleys 28 b. The ridges 28 a and valleys 28 b are oriented generally horizontally relative to a longitudinal axis “Y” (FIG. 1) of glove 10.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, second layer 28 also includes a plurality of striations 28 c, seen best in FIG. 3. Striations 28 c are generally aligned with longitudinal axis “Y”. Striations 28 c extend across each individual valley 28 b generally from one ridge 28 a to the adjacent ridge 28 a. The ridges 28 a, valleys 28 b, and striations 28 c provides improved abrasion resistance to glove 10. The material of second layer 28 may be natural rubber that is milled, formed, and compressed rubber. The outer etching second layer 28 defining ridges 28 a, valley 28 b, and striations 28 c defines a very rough outer surface of glove 10. The rough outer surface is advantageous in the meat packing industry to allow grease and water to drain through various channels defined by the valleys 28 b and striations 28 c so that glove 10 is less slippery, especially when working with pork and chicken. The etching of second layer 28 is formed as glove 10 is dipped in liquefied first layer and liquefied second layer material. It is entirely possible and foreseen that other methods of forming a rough surface around a protective member 24 would be entirely possible other than forming it through a dipped process.

As depicted in FIG. 5, another aspect of protective glove 10 includes an indicator layer 50. Indicator layer 50 extends from a first end 52 around the tip 22 to a second end 54. First end 52 and second end 54 of indicator layer 50 are both distal of interphalangeal joint 46. Indicator layer 50 is positioned between hardened protective member 24 and flexible outer second layer 28. Indicator layer 50 is preferably fabricated from acrylic in combination with styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). Indicator layer 50 has a color that is different than that of flexible outer second layer 28 such that indicator layer 50 provides a visual indicator in the event that flexible outer second layer 28 is ripped or torn or otherwise broken. In one exemplary embodiment, indicator layer 50 is an orange color visually distinct from the color associated with outer flexible second layer 28.

While FIG. 5 details an embodiment of glove 10 having indicator layer 50 to provide a visual representation in the event the flexible outer second layer 28 is torn, it is entirely possible that an embodiment of FIG. 4 having only a hardened protective member 24 and a flexible outer second layer 28 is utilized and wherein the hardened protective member 24 is dyed a color different than that of the flexible outer second layer 28. If this version is employed, the hardened protective member 24 may be an orange thimble-like member that visually identifies a cut or tear or rip or otherwise break in the flexible outer second layer 28 of glove 10.

As depicted in FIG. 6, an exemplary tear or rip 56 is shown near the tip of a finger region of glove 10. The tear or rip 56 extends entirely through flexible outer second layer 28 revealing indicator layer 50 there beneath. Indicator layer 50 shows itself through the aperture defined by tear 56 in order to provide a visual indicator to the user that the glove is broken and needs replaced.

It will be understood that the style of glove 10 illustrated in these figures is a hand-specific glove, but other styles of glove, such as puppet gloves or mitts may utilize include the features of glove 10 which provide improved abrasion resistance.

A pair of gloves 10 in accordance with the above description and figures was fabricated and tested for abrasion resistance. Glove 10 is fabricated by forming the liner of drilled cotton 26 over a mold in the desired shape or form of resultant glove 10. The drilled cotton liner 26 may then be dipped into a liquid solution of first layer 20 and then removed allowing first layer 20 to cool. Protective member 24 may be attached via an adhesive to the tip end 22 of first layer 20. Thus, protective member 24 may be pre-hardened and secured to glove. Alternatively, the cotton liner 26 and first layer 20 may have the finger tips 22 dipped into an acrylic or polymer solution and removed and cured to form protective member 24. Thereafter, portions of the glove having first layer 20 and protective member 24 adhered thereto may be dipped into a bath of liquid second layer material wherein second layer 28 is then permitted to cool. The milled features 28 a, 28 b, 28 c of second layer 28 may be formed while second layer 28 cools and cures. Second layer 28 may be a natural rubber, Acrynitrile Butadiene Rubber, or Chloroprene. Similarly, first layer 20 may be a natural rubber, Acrynitrile Butadiene Rubber, or Chloroprene. Alternatively, first layer 20 and second layer 28 may also be pre-vulcanized latex.

When the layers are formed from pre-vulcanized latex, glove 10 may be dipped at least three times into the bath of liquid pre-vulcanized latex layer material. By dipping three times, glove 10 is formed thicker than conventional protective gloves in the meat packing industry. The thrice dipped thick glove 10 is semi-stiff or semi-rigid and less flexible than conventional protective glove. The thrice dipped thick glove 10 layer 28 which includes a first sub-layer, a second sub-layer, and a third sub-layer formed from dipping the mold at least three times in a bath of liquefied layer 28 material. One exemplary, non-limiting advantage of a thrice dipped semi-rigid glove 10 is that the rigid form enables the glove to be removed from the hand (i.e., doffed) very quickly in the event of an emergency with the glove getting caught in the machine. The thick glove 10 having the wider first width 13 also assists with rapid removal of thick glove 10 in such an emergency.

In the embodiment of glove 10 that includes indicator layer 50 positioned between outer second layer 28 and the hardened protective member 24, the indicator layer 50 is applied over the hardened member 24. Then the glove with the indicator layer 50 is dipped into a liquid bath of the second layer 28 such that the dipping process seals indicator layer 50 therebetween the second layer 28 and the hardened protective member 24.

Once glove 10 is fabricated, a user dons the glove by inserting their hand into the interior portions of the glove contacting cotton liner 26. User may then grasp a piece of meat that needs skinned in a skinning device. When grasping the meat, the etched second layer 28 contacts the meat and provides a gripping surface with the plurality of randomized alternating ridges 28 a and valleys 28 b. Additionally, the material of first layer 20 and second layer 28 allow the user to flex their fingers to assist in the gripping of the meat. Further, with protective member 24 integrally formed between first and third layer entirely distal of the interphalangeal line 46, the tips 22 of a user's fingers are protected when manipulating the meat onto the skinning device while still allowing fingers to flex about the interphalangeal joint.

During the skinning process, the user guides the meat over a rotating blade narrowly exposed through a hole defined in a skinning table top (i.e., a deriding skinner machine). The user may rest the tips of the glove on the table top and move the piece of meat over the hole having the rotating skinning blades moving therein. In the event that tip region 22 of glove 10 comes into contact with the rotating blade, the protective member 24 made of hardened material will protect the tips of a finger in a thimble-like manner. Stated otherwise, protective member 24 may be generally cup-shaped to cover the tips of a wearer's fingers such that the cup-shaped protective member terminates between the base of a wearers finger nail and the interphalangeal joint. One exemplary and non-limiting deriding skinner machine is manufactured and commercially available for sale under the name “SK 15-340 Pork Skinner” by Marel hf of Reykjavik, Iceland.

FIG. 7 depicts a first finger region 116 a of a protective glove 110 in accordance with one aspect of an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure. Glove 110 is formed from a single layer 128 of flexible material. The single layer 128 may form similar rough surfaces (i.e., 28 a, 28 b) to provide suitable grip during the meat handling process. However, unlike glove 10 which has an integrally formed protective member 24, glove 110 is designed to utilize a protective member 124 which may be retrofitted to an existing protective glove. Stated otherwise, glove 110 is formed by retrofitting an ordinary and usual non-slip glove utilized in the meat packing industry with the protective member 124 inserted into the fingertip region. FIG. 7 depicts the step of retrofitting an ordinary meat packing protective glove into glove 110 by inserting protective member 124 into the fingertip in the direction of Arrow A.

Protective member 124 may fit into the inner surface of layer 128 via a frictional interference fit, or may be attached with a thin layer of adhesive. Alternatively, protective member 124 may fit interiorly of a liner 126 and be connected thereto. In each instance, protective member 124 is shaped similar to a thimble and has an end that terminates distally from imaginary interphalangeal joint line 46, similar to that of glove 10.

Also, various inventive concepts may be embodied as one or more methods, of which an example has been provided. The acts performed as part of the method may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.

While various inventive embodiments have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing the function and/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the inventive embodiments described herein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the inventive teachings is/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific inventive embodiments described herein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, inventive embodiments may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Inventive embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individual feature, system, article, material, kit, and/or method described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the inventive scope of the present disclosure.

The above-described embodiments can be implemented in any of numerous ways. For example, embodiments of technology disclosed herein may be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof. When implemented in software, the software code or instructions can be executed on any suitable processor or collection of processors, whether provided in a single computer or distributed among multiple computers. Furthermore, the instructions or software code can be stored in at least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium.

Also, a computer or smartphone utilized to execute the software code or instructions via its processors may have one or more input and output devices. These devices can be used, among other things, to present a user interface. Examples of output devices that can be used to provide a user interface include printers or display screens for visual presentation of output and speakers or other sound generating devices for audible presentation of output. Examples of input devices that can be used for a user interface include keyboards, and pointing devices, such as mice, touch pads, and digitizing tablets. As another example, a computer may receive input information through speech recognition or in other audible format.

Such computers or smartphones may be interconnected by one or more networks in any suitable form, including a local area network or a wide area network, such as an enterprise network, and intelligent network (IN) or the Internet. Such networks may be based on any suitable technology and may operate according to any suitable protocol and may include wireless networks, wired networks or fiber optic networks.

The various methods or processes outlined herein may be coded as software/instructions that is executable on one or more processors that employ any one of a variety of operating systems or platforms. Additionally, such software may be written using any of a number of suitable programming languages and/or programming or scripting tools, and also may be compiled as executable machine language code or intermediate code that is executed on a framework or virtual machine.

In this respect, various inventive concepts may be embodied as a computer readable storage medium (or multiple computer readable storage media) (e.g., a computer memory, one or more floppy discs, compact discs, optical discs, magnetic tapes, flash memories, USB flash drives, SD cards, circuit configurations in Field Programmable Gate Arrays or other semiconductor devices, or other non-transitory medium or tangible computer storage medium) encoded with one or more programs that, when executed on one or more computers or other processors, perform methods that implement the various embodiments of the disclosure discussed above. The computer readable medium or media can be transportable, such that the program or programs stored thereon can be loaded onto one or more different computers or other processors to implement various aspects of the present disclosure as discussed above.

The terms “program” or “software” or “instructions” are used herein in a generic sense to refer to any type of computer code or set of computer-executable instructions that can be employed to program a computer or other processor to implement various aspects of embodiments as discussed above. Additionally, it should be appreciated that according to one aspect, one or more computer programs that when executed perform methods of the present disclosure need not reside on a single computer or processor, but may be distributed in a modular fashion amongst a number of different computers or processors to implement various aspects of the present disclosure.

Computer-executable instructions may be in many forms, such as program modules, executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Typically the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments.

Also, data structures may be stored in computer-readable media in any suitable form. For simplicity of illustration, data structures may be shown to have fields that are related through location in the data structure. Such relationships may likewise be achieved by assigning storage for the fields with locations in a computer-readable medium that convey relationship between the fields. However, any suitable mechanism may be used to establish a relationship between information in fields of a data structure, including through the use of pointers, tags or other mechanisms that establish relationship between data elements.

All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and/or ordinary meanings of the defined terms.

“Logic”, as used herein, includes but is not limited to hardware, firmware, software and/or combinations of each to perform a function(s) or an action(s), and/or to cause a function or action from another logic, method, and/or system. For example, based on a desired application or needs, logic may include a software controlled microprocessor, discrete logic like a processor (e.g., microprocessor), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmed logic device, a memory device containing instructions, an electric device having a memory, or the like. Logic may include one or more gates, combinations of gates, or other circuit components. Logic may also be fully embodied as software. Where multiple logics are described, it may be possible to incorporate the multiple logics into one physical logic. Similarly, where a single logic is described, it may be possible to distribute that single logic between multiple physical logics.

Furthermore, the logic(s) presented herein for accomplishing various methods of this system may be directed towards improvements in existing computer-centric or internet-centric technology that may not have previous analog versions. The logic(s) may provide specific functionality directly related to structure that addresses and resolves some problems identified herein. The logic(s) may also provide significantly more advantages to solve these problems by providing an exemplary inventive concept as specific logic structure and concordant functionality of the method and system. Furthermore, the logic(s) may also provide specific computer implemented rules that improve on existing technological processes. The logic(s) provided herein extends beyond merely gathering data, analyzing the information, and displaying the results. Further, portions or all of the present disclosure may rely on underlying equations that are derived from the specific arrangement of the equipment or components as recited herein. Thus, portions of the present disclosure as it relates to the specific arrangement of the components are not directed to abstract ideas. Furthermore, the present disclosure and the appended claims present teachings that involve more than performance of well-understood, routine, and conventional activities previously known to the industry. In some of the method or process of the present disclosure, which may incorporate some aspects of natural phenomenon, the process or method steps are additional features that are new and useful.

The articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.” The phrase “and/or,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims (if at all), should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with “and/or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/or B”, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc. As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and/or” as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and/or” shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as “only one of” or “exactly one of,” or, when used in the claims, “consisting of,” will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term “or” as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (i.e. “one or the other but not both”) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or “exactly one of.” “Consisting essentially of,” when used in the claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.

As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.

When a feature or element is herein referred to as being “on” another feature or element, it can be directly on the other feature or element or intervening features and/or elements may also be present. In contrast, when a feature or element is referred to as being “directly on” another feature or element, there are no intervening features or elements present. It will also be understood that, when a feature or element is referred to as being “connected”, “attached” or “coupled” to another feature or element, it can be directly connected, attached or coupled to the other feature or element or intervening features or elements may be present. In contrast, when a feature or element is referred to as being “directly connected”, “directly attached” or “directly coupled” to another feature or element, there are no intervening features or elements present. Although described or shown with respect to one embodiment, the features and elements so described or shown can apply to other embodiments. It will also be appreciated by those of skill in the art that references to a structure or feature that is disposed “adjacent” another feature may have portions that overlap or underlie the adjacent feature.

Spatially relative terms, such as “under”, “below”, “lower”, “over”, “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if a device in the figures is inverted, elements described as “under” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “over” the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “under” can encompass both an orientation of over and under. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. Similarly, the terms “upwardly”, “downwardly”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “lateral” and the like are used herein for the purpose of explanation only unless specifically indicated otherwise.

Although the terms “first” and “second” may be used herein to describe various features/elements, these features/elements should not be limited by these terms, unless the context indicates otherwise. These terms may be used to distinguish one feature/element from another feature/element. Thus, a first feature/element discussed herein could be termed a second feature/element, and similarly, a second feature/element discussed herein could be termed a first feature/element without departing from the teachings of the present invention.

An embodiment is an implementation or example of the present disclosure. Reference in the specification to “an embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “one particular embodiment,” or “other embodiments,” or the like, means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least some embodiments, but not necessarily all embodiments, of the invention. The various appearances “an embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “one particular embodiment,” or “other embodiments,” or the like, are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiments.

If this specification states a component, feature, structure, or characteristic “may”, “might”, or “could” be included, that particular component, feature, structure, or characteristic is not required to be included. If the specification or claim refers to “a” or “an” element, that does not mean there is only one of the element. If the specification or claims refer to “an additional” element, that does not preclude there being more than one of the additional element.

As used herein in the specification and claims, including as used in the examples and unless otherwise expressly specified, all numbers may be read as if prefaced by the word “about” or “approximately,” even if the term does not expressly appear. The phrase “about” or “approximately” may be used when describing magnitude and/or position to indicate that the value and/or position described is within a reasonable expected range of values and/or positions. For example, a numeric value may have a value that is +/−0.1% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−1% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−2% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−5% of the stated value (or range of values), +/−10% of the stated value (or range of values), etc. Any numerical range recited herein is intended to include all sub-ranges subsumed therein.

Additionally, any method of performing the present disclosure may occur in a sequence different than those described herein. Accordingly, no sequence of the method should be read as a limitation unless explicitly stated. It is recognizable that performing some of the steps of the method in a different order could achieve a similar result.

In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitional phrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” “holding,” “composed of,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of” shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, as set forth in the United States Patent Office Manual of Patent Examining Procedures.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the description and illustration of various embodiments of the disclosure are examples and the disclosure is not limited to the exact details shown or described. 

What is claimed:
 1. A glove, comprising: a proximal wrist end opposite a distal fingertip end; four finger sleeves and one thumb sleeve, wherein each sleeve includes a distal tip that has at least four layers when viewed in cross section, the at least four layers including: an inner liner defining a portion of the finger sleeves and thumb sleeves; wherein the inner liner is operative to contact a hand; a protective member at the distal tip and positioned distal from an interphalangeal joint line of each finger sleeve and the thumb sleeve; protective member is hardened relative to the inner liner; an outer surface layer; and an indicator layer, located between the protective member at the distal tip and outer surface layer, wherein the indicator layer is operative to provide a visual indicator to a user that the glove is broken and needs replaced when the outer surface layer is torn, ripped, cut, broken or otherwise perforated.
 2. The glove of claim 1, wherein the outer surface layer on the four finger sleeves and thumb sleeve includes a plurality of lateral ridges that are spaced apart and extend at least partially circumferentially around each one of the four finger sleeves and thumb sleeve and the outer surface further includes vertical striations extending between adjacent lateral ridges and valleys defined between adjacent striations.
 3. The glove of claim 1, wherein the outer layer provides a gripping surface with a plurality of randomized alternating ridges and valleys.
 4. The glove of claim 3, wherein the material of the inner liner and the outer layer allow the user to flex their fingers to assist in gripping.
 5. The glove of claim 3, wherein the lateral ridges and valleys defined between adjacent striations are adapted to drain grease byproduct therealong during a meat skinning process
 6. The glove of claim 1, wherein the protective member is positioned interior the outer layer of material and extending around the distal tip inside the glove.
 7. The glove of claim 1, wherein the indicator layer comprises: acrylic in combination with styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR).
 8. The glove of claim 1, wherein the indicator layer is a distinct different color than that of the outer layer.
 9. The glove of claim 1, wherein the indicator layer is a distinct different color than that of the inner liner.
 10. The glove of claim 1, wherein the indicator layer is a distinct different color than that of the protective member.
 11. The glove of claim 1, wherein the indicator layer is a different color than any of the inner liner, the outer layer and the protective member.
 12. The glove of claim 1, wherein the protective member is positioned entirely distal of the interphalangeal joint line.
 13. The glove of claim 1, wherein the protective member is generally cup shaped and terminates between the base of a wearers finger nail and the interphalangeal joint.
 14. A method comprising: donning a glove, wherein the glove comprises: an indicator layer, located between an outer layer and protective member at the distal tip thereof, wherein the indicator layer is operative to provide a visual indicator to a user that the glove is broken and needs replaced; grasping a piece of meat with skin or fat on it that must be removed; operating a deriding skinner machine; guiding the piece of meat with skin or fat on it over a blade of the deriding skinner machine; exposing the indicator layer on one or more of the four finger sleeves or thumb sleeve; viewing the exposed indicator layer, removing and disposing the glove in response to viewing the exposed indicator layer; and replacing the glove with the exposed indicator layer for another glove without an exposed indicator layer.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein prior to exposing the indicator layer includes, tearing, ripping, cutting, breaking or otherwise perforating the glove with the skinner machine occurs.
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein grasping the meat includes: contacting an etched outer layer of material with the meat and provides a gripping surface with a plurality of randomized alternating ridges and valleys.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein grasping the meat further includes: using a flexing finger regions in the glove at the interphalangeal joint line to grip the meat, wherein the protective member is entirely distal of the interphalangeal joint line.
 18. The method of claim 14, wherein guiding the piece of meat with skin or fat on it over a blade of the deriding skinner machine includes: resting the glove fingertips on a table top of the skinner machine while grasping the meat; guiding the meat over the rotating blade narrowly exposed through a hole defined in the skinning table top; protecting a fingertip of the glove if the glove comes into contact with the rotating blade, wherein the protective member made of hardened material will protect the tips of a finger in a thimble-like manner.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein protecting the fingertip of the glove further includes, displaying the indicator layer through a tear, rip, cut, break or otherwise perforation in the outer layer while the protective member remains intact.
 20. The method of claim 14 wherein the glove further comprises: a proximal wrist end opposite a distal fingertip end; four finger sleeves and one thumb sleeve, wherein each sleeve includes a distal tip that has at least four layers when viewed in cross section, the at least four layers including: an inner liner defining a portion of the finger sleeves and thumb sleeves; wherein the liner layer is operative to contact a hand; the protective member at the distal tip and positioned distal from an interphalangeal joint line, wherein the protective member is hardened relative to the inner liner; and the outer surface layer, wherein the outer surface on the four finger sleeves and thumb sleeve includes a plurality of lateral ridges that are spaced apart and extend at least partially circumferentially around each one of the four finger sleeves and thumb sleeve sleeves includes vertical striations extending between adjacent lateral ridges and valleys defined between adjacent striations. 